


Watching Over You

by shellygurumi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:57:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2497046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shellygurumi/pseuds/shellygurumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after the end of 10.03; Castiel takes care of Dean while Sam goes out for a while. Maybe Dean needs Cas far more than he realized, and Cas will certainly be there for him this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watching Over You

After Sam left to get food for Dean, Cas left Dean in his room to get some rest and went out to tell Hannah that he was going to stick around for a while. Sam had asked him to look after Dean and Cas fully intended to do that. Hannah excused herself to find something else to do and left Cas to his own devices. Waiting for Sam to return, Cas passed time flipping through books, pacing idly and trying not to worry too much about the Mark of Cain remaining on Dean and failing.

Sam broke Cas from his thoughts when he opened the door, a few bags of food balanced precariously in his one good arm. Cas quickly helped him, taking the bags and offering to take them to Dean. Just then, Dean emerged from his room and found the two of them.

"Heya, Sammy..." He said, and though he tried for casual, it was clear that Dean was still worried about losing Sam.

Good brother that he was, Sam smiled brightly at Dean and held up the one bag still in his hand, "Dean. I got you some food, even remembered the pie!"

A half grin turned up one side of Dean's mouth and amusement lit his green eyes. "Hey, whaddaya know. Thanks, Sammy."  

"Hey, it's what brothers are for."

Dean held Sam's eyes and spoke more deliberately. "Really. Thank you."

Sam caught on to the fact that Dean was thanking him for more than the food, smiled and gave a solemn nod. "You're welcome, Dean."

Quickly breaking the moment, Dean took a deep breath and turned to search through bags of food Sam bought for him. "This all looks perfect."

Sam laughed, "Yeah, I decided to go with the hangover remedy style menu. And uh, while you eat that, I'm gonna go take the night off and ... get a few drinks. Do you mind?"

"No, no, Sammy, go for it. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, and Cas will be here with you. Right, Cas?" Sam turned to him and brought the attention back to him again.

Cas shifted and looked from Sam to Dean. "Absolutely. I'm here for you, Dean."

"You sure? What about that... 'female in the car' situation?" Dean asked, quoting him from earlier. Sam gave Cas a strange look which Cas chose to ignore for now.

"She's... elsewhere and knows I'm staying here."

"Okay... Well, Sam, have fun." Dean waved to his little brother then turned to the food. "Cas, grab a chair, I'm gonna dig in."

"You two stay out of trouble," Sam said with a laugh, then headed out. Cas joined Dean at the table and sat back to watch him eat. The vigor with which he tore into that food hopefully boded well for the humanity taking over in Dean, but Cas kept a careful eye on him anyway.

After a few good mouthfuls of burger, Dean took a gulp of some beverage in a fast food to-go cup, then turned to Cas, "So, explain this female. Got yourself a girlfriend?"

"No." Cas shook his head. "She's... an angel, one who had been working to stop Metatron. She wanted me to help her try and get heaven back into order, but we don't fully see eye-to-eye on all matters about that."

"Like what?"

"Free will, essentially." He tipped his head to one side and half shrugged. "Some angels don't want to go back to heaven, they want to have a choice in how they spend their lives. She, and other angels, disagree and think everyone belongs back in heaven, sorting out the problems."

"What do you think?"

Cas sighed. "Order should be restored, and free will... it can be a dangerous thing. But I disagree with forcing the angels back into heaven when they have no interest in being there and aren't planning to do any harm on earth."

"Sounds like you two are at an impasse."

"I suppose you're right. She respects me, though, and my opinion. I also think she... cares for me."

"Cares for you -- as in...?" Dean made a vague gesture which held no meaning, but Cas knew that he was implying romantic thoughts.

"Yes." He nodded. "I believe so."

"And do you ... care for her?" Dean deliberately used Cas's own words.

"Not in the same way. I care what happens to her, I don't want her to die, but I am not... romantically inclined towards her."

"Ah." Dean gave a nod. Silence fell between them, apart from the sound of Dean chewing or slurping his drink through the plastic straw.

"I put the troubles of heaven aside when Sam called me. I came straight here."

"Thanks, Cas." Dean looked over at him and offered his kind, warm smile. A smile that reached his eyes and showed genuine gratitude.

"You're welcome. There... aren't many lengths I won't go to, to try and help you, or save you."

Dean set his burger down and laughed quietly. "Cas, we met when you pulled my ass out of Hell. I'd say you set the bar pretty high with that one. I guess it's kinda fitting that this time... you pulled the Hell out of me."

Cas smiled, amused, and gave a little nod. "I suppose you're right."

"I know I don't say thank you as much as I should... but you've been there for me -- for both me and Sammy, and everyone else -- so many times. I ought to tell you more often."

"I've done a lot of bad things as well, Dean, things I'm not proud of."

"I just tried to kill my brother, man."

"That wasn't you, Dean."

"I know, but what I'm saying is -- we all make mistakes. We all get ourselves into shitty situations which end up in shittier situations and dead friends and more regrets than I know how to deal with. Point is... you're family, plain and simple. And if Sam can forgive me for what I've done to him -- everything from Gadreel killing Kevin with his hands and then nearly killing him tonight -- I think I can forgive you for the mistakes you've made, too."

"We did the wrong things for the right reasons..." Cas said to Dean, not for the first time.

"Yeah. We did. And we've come out the other side again."

Cas nodded and fell quiet to contemplate those words for a moment. Then he smiled at Dean, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. Everything you've taught me, the times you've saved me, for thinking of me as family, for forgiving me. Thank you, Dean."

"Aw, gonna make this a chick flick moment?" Dean grimaced, but he was smiling beneath it and Cas could tell.

He laughed, "Yes, I am."

"Well..." Dean sighed and finished off his burger. He sat back in his chair and looked over at Cas. "I think I'm full for now. What do you say we go watch some shitty movie or something?"

"If that's what you would like to do, then sure." Cas stood and waited for Dean. They walked into the lounge area of the bunker and Cas chose a seat on one end of the couch. Dean plopped down in the middle, not far away, and picked up a TV remote. He began flipping through the channels and ended up on some made-for-TV horror film, which he referred to as a B-movie. The acting was particularly bad and the plot didn't make sense, but Dean seemed to enjoy it.

The day and the demon must have worn on him, though, because Dean began nodding off. His head drooped idly, only to pop back up again suddenly, then repeat. Eventually, Dean slumped to the side, head resting on Cas's shoulder. Cas smiled but kept watching the movie for a few more minutes, waiting to see if Dean would wake up.

When he didn't, Cas carefully maneuvered Dean until he was stretched out on the couch, his head resting in Cas's lap. A blanket was pulled off the back of the couch and draped over Dean's body. Dean shifted about until he was comfortable, nuzzled his head against Cas's leg, then settled again with a pleased sigh.

Cas only hesitated a second before setting his hand on Dean's head. He slowly trailed his fingers through the sleeping man's hair and felt the curve of Dean's cheek plump into a smile. They stay like that through the rest of the movie and into the next show that starts. Cas stopped paying attention to the television long before that, though. He remained focused on Dean and realized just how glad he was to have the man back, demon free, at least for now. Cas decided that he was going to savor this time with Dean and begin contemplating the troubles with the mark later. Sam was right about needing to take the night off and Cas hadn't realized how much he needed it as well until this calm, peaceful moment.

After a few hours, Cas decided it was time to get Dean into a proper bed. He carefully lifted Dean and tried to extricate himself, to no avail. Dean's hand, which had at some point moved to rest on Cas's thigh, squeezed suddenly.

"Don't go..." Dean murmured against his leg.

"You should be in bed, Dean."

"Jus' don't go..." He was still too asleep to realize what he was saying, Cas decided.

"I'm not going anywhere," Cas agreed. "But I'm getting you into bed." With his grace back, Cas was strong enough that lifting the Winchester up required virtually no effort at all. He cradled Dean in his arms and carried him to his bedroom, amused that a small part of his mind hoped that Sam didn't walk in on this.

Dean fell back asleep, limply resting against Cas the whole journey. He settled into bed without complaint and didn't seem to notice as Cas took his boots off. At loose ends, Cas stood over Dean's bed and watched him sleep, smiling when he remembered how Dean hated that in the early days. Still did, probably. Or, so Cas thought, until the man murmured in his sleep again.

"Cas?"

"I'm still here, Dean." He said, leaning over the man and gently touching his shoulder.

"Don't leave..."

Another momentary hesitation overtook Cas, then he threw all caution to the wind. After kicking off his shoes and shrugging out of his overcoat, Cas climbed into Dean's bed behind him. He wrapped his arm around the taller man and pulled Dean in until his back was flush against Cas's chest. One of Dean's hands moved to hold Cas's forearm and then the man breathed a sigh, as if in relief.

"I'm right here, Dean. I'm not going anywhere." Following a strange desire, Cas pressed a kiss to Dean's shoulder. He was rewarded with a slight squeeze of Dean's hand, then the man fell completely asleep.

Cas stayed awake, but closed his eyes, taking in this situation, wondering what it meant, and trying not to second guess himself. The chances that Dean would explain it in the morning were slim to none, so Cas took it at face value: He wanted Cas there, he needed him there. He didn't want to be alone and Cas's presence helped him relax.

Dean's words from the crypt, the ones that broke Cas out of his brain-washed state, came back to him.

_"We’re family. We need you. I need you."_

They were family. And maybe, just maybe, that didn't mean it was platonic. Maybe Dean needed Cas in a different way, one he wasn't quite ready to say out loud yet. Time would tell, but for now, this was a good start. Cas nuzzled into Dean's neck and was thankful for one night of peace with Dean Winchester. Such things were hard to come by.

 


End file.
